All About Baseball with Byron Copley

I expect that the title of this podcast reveals my opinion of MLB’s current approach to partnering with corporations to raise revenue, awareness, and ROI. In my opinion, in-game advertising, that appears virtually everywhere in the course of a television broadcast, is a distraction to the play on the field. And, in the past, there was an organic connection between company sponsors and major-league teams. Now the arrangement seems stripped down to the contrived and transactional, no matter how much both sides deliver messaging to the contrary, couched in PR word salads. Music: “Field Grass,” by Sergei Pavkin email: [email protected]

Having read the book Moneyball, by Michael Lewis, I recognized that the approach that the Oakland A’s front office took to hitting in 2002 was virtually identical to the approach that we applied in Little League in 1967. Yet, it was rejected and ridiculed by the “common wisdom” of MLB at the time. Why it did so remains a mystery, especially considering that a patient and deliberate approach to hitting was evident to us from the time we played organized baseball. Music: “Field Grass” Sergei Pavkin email: [email protected] ps. I revised this podcast to correct a mistake that was identified by a loyal listener. In a total lapse of concentration, I incorrectly named “sacrifice” as a way to reach base. I made an edit to correct this “egregious” mistake.

After a 16-year Major League career, Hank Aguirre established a company called Mexican Industries in 1979, with the intent of employing fellow Mexicans and other minorities who lived in an area of Detroit called “Mexicantown.” After several lean years, the company blossomed in to a $150,000,000 business by the time Hank died in 1994. Entrepreneur, community leader, and benefactor, Aguirre’s story of a literal nuts-and-bolts beginning to an enterprise business is chronicled in the book “The Tall Mexican,” written by my father, Robert Copley, who was Hank’s friend from 1962 to 1994 and beyond. Music: “Field Grass” by Sergei Pavkin email:[email protected]

Even at the highest levels of the game, in the most critical situations, obstruction and interference create confusion and controversy among the best and brightest baseball minds. Here, I offer three examples of this, as well as one that I judged in much more obscure circumstances. Music: “Field Grass” by Sergei Pavkin email: [email protected]

You may have noticed that none of the other episodes in this podcast were numbered. This Episode #21 has a number because it represents a significant milestone: Only 1% of all podcasts ever get to Episode 21. So, now, All About Baseball us among the top 1% of all podcasts in the world in regards to the number of posted episodes. It seems like a low bar, but having put in the time effort (and money) to pursue this passion for sharing baseball content with a like-minded audience, I can see why most podcasts never reach this milestone. In this podcast, I recognize the people who helped me get it up and running, share some background as to how it got started, remind myself mostly why I am doing this in the first place, and I encourage you, the listeners, to do likewise if you are so inclined — because I want to hear what you have to say. Music: “Field Grass” Sergei Pavkin email: [email protected]

An idea occurred to me to research former players who compiled year in and year out impressive offense while remaining in relative anonymity, so to speak, and who, by most accounts, are largely forgotten today, with a few exceptions. So I filtered, with the help of Fangraphs, those players who played from 1960 to 2023 with between 5,000 and 5,999 plate appearances and a career Weighted On Base Average, (wOBA) of .350 or higher. wOBA is perhaps the most-effective way to measure a player’s ability to generate runs. According to Fangraphs: “Weighted On-Base Average combines all the different aspects of hitting into one metric, weighting each of them in proportion to their actual run value.” The list is surprisingly small and contains names that will surprise. From that list, I selected eight position players as my “5,000 to 5,999 Plate Appearance MLB All-Time Team: 1960-2023.” It’s a long podcast title, and, for clarification , the cutoff point is 5,999 plate appearances. I say that because I mention “5,000 to 6,000” plate appearances a few times in the podcast. Rather than re-record the entire episode, I include this disclaimer here. Thank you for listening. Music: “Field Grass” Sergei Pavkin email: [email protected]

A listener posed a question to me: “Is there a correlation between competitive baseball and competitive match play golf?” It inspired me to propose alternate method of scoring baseball games that could apply especially well to youth baseball. In the light of the radical rule changes that Major League Baseball has instituted in the last several years in the interest of accelerating the pace of play, my suggestion, in my opinion, isn’t all that revolutionary. Listen and see if you agree. Music: “Field Grass” Sergei Pavkin email: [email protected]

A childhood neighbor relates an experience of fielding a ground ball off the bat of Ron LeFlore, whose rise from the Jackson State Prison in Jackson, MI, to major-league all-star is well-known and -chronicled. This story, until now, was known by only a handful of witnesses and those who heard it first-hand, as I did. Music: “Field Grass” Sergei Pavkov email: [email protected]

The importance of base running is undervalued. This podcast seeks to illustrate the value of base running and the consequences of making mistakes on the base paths, which, in virtually every instance, are avoidable when the key ingredients of aggression, awareness, focus, and hustle are applied. Music: “Field Grass” by Sergei Pavkin email: [email protected]

Baseball is unique in that the smallest margins of error can determine which team wins or loses games or even World Series championships. In this podcast, I dissect two memorable and minute events that affected the outcome of the 1962 and the 1968 World Series. Get ready to examine them through the lens of a microscope — millimeter by millimeter. Music: “Field Grass” Sergei Pavkin email: [email protected] The Physics and Timing of the Outfield Bounce Throw: https://tht.fangraphs.com/the-physics-and-timing-of-the-outfield-bounce-throw/ Tiny Margins and the Math and Science of Baseball: https://www.talknats.com/2016/08/24/tiny-margins/

This podcast examines in detail the events and circumstances of bottom of the sixth inning of the 2001 Little League World Series Championship Game between Apopka, Florida and Tokyo, Japan. I watched this game live, and I relate, here and now, my observations at the time as a way to offer an alternative approach to the strategies and tactics applied by both coaches, that possibly may have changed the outcome of what turned out to be a narrow 2-1 Tokyo, Japan victory. What I did not question, but rather celebrated, was the way that the boys from both teams comported themselves after that tense contest. email: [email protected] 2001 LLWS You Tube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wkpt8RKdZh8

I was an assistant coach on a travel team in Southeast Michigan from 1999 to 2003, and one of our main priorities was to protect the arms of our young pitchers — with large measures of communication, conditioning, and common sense. This podcast goes into some detail about our approach to preventing even sore arms, and there’s nothing complex about it. We considered as one of our most important accomplishments over those four years to be that every single pitcher under our supervision and tutelage remained healthy and avoided even minor arm injury. However, in 2002, I was involved in a circumstance of my own creation that may have contributed to the well-being of an opposing pitcher’s arm — a circumstance that I wish I could take back, even though all I did was talk to the home plate umpire. Music: “Field Grass” Sergei Pavkin email: [email protected] Youth Baseball Pitching Study: https://www.littleleague.org/partnerships/pitch-smart/overuse-primary-cause-arm-injuries/ Young Arms and Curveballs: https://www.drivelinebaseball.com/2012/03/young-arms-and-curveballs-the-real-story-behind-it-all/

In this podcast, I make an appeal for those who sit in the first row of a ballpark to let the ball come to them. There have been several famous and countless not-so-famous incidents of spectator interference that have possibly affected the outcomes of entire post seasons. I mention both and also make some recommendations that may or may not be acceptable to you listeners — I look forward to your input and feedback — that would minimize the opportunities for fans to inject them selves where they don’t belong: on the field of play. email: [email protected] Music: “Field Grass” by Sergei Pavkin

A text with a friend who is a fan of the San Francisco Giants inspired this podcast that talks about John McGraw’s style of baseball, which has gone the way of the maskless football helmet, the demotion to Triple A of the National League’s 2023 save leader, 27-year-old Camlio Doval, and a comparison of Doval’s 2023 season to the 1973 season of reliever John Hiller, the life-long Detroit Tiger, whose life was nearly drastically shortened by a heart attack in 1971. He was 27 years old at the time. This podcast delves deeply into numbers, splits, and some sabrmetrics — to illustrate the difference between what it took to earn a save in the two eras (pun) which are 50 years apart. Camlio Doval 2023 Game Log John Hiller 1973 Game Log

This listener-requested topic spawned a podcast that burrows into several different rabbit holes, from how to grip the bat correctly to a discussion on the revenue-generating power of the batting-glove industry, to a Monet painting that was on display in The Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts in Little Rock, Arkansas. This journey into the logic — and illogic — of the grip that the batting-glove marketplace has on the hearts and minds of virtually every ballplayer from Little League to MLB is just a slice of the story you are about to hear. MLB Team By Revenue 2024, Statista Baseball Gloves Market, Factmr.com Music: “Field Grass” Sergei Pavkin

In the brief three-month summer window of June-July-August, from 1964 to 1967, we packed in countless hours of playing baseball on the neighborhood vacant lot just down the street. The value — and the values — we took away from that all-too-brief experience still resonate with me, and I hope with the kids who came from all around to play the only game we really loved, because baseball was in our DNA — we were hard-wired to play it. We learned to compete fiercely and fairly, and we honed our baseball skills with endless repetition. Progress, in the form of two symmetrical ranch homes with attached garages, supplanted our field before we were ready to surrender it before the summer of 1968. NOTE: I updated this podcast because I wanted to add content that was not included in the initial version. For those of you who have already listened to this podcast, I encourage you to listen to this more detailed, comprehensive update. email: [email protected] Music: “Field Grass” by Sergei Pavkin

In my effort to cover content that is All About Baseball, this is a personal account of a tragedy that occurred in a tournament game that involved my high-school team in 1974. Briefly, someone died and I saw it happen right in front of me. I would like to say that this surreal moment transformed me into a better person, but the suddenness and severity of the event was too much for a 17-year-old kid to process, and they way it was handled, though considered “normal” for the era, was still harsh and hectic. So, I shoved it behind me, or tried to, with little success. The repercussions still reverberate in my mind — even after 50 years — as I still try to process it. email: [email protected] Music: “Field Grass” by Sergei Pavkin

On June 2, 2010, Detroit Tiger pitcher Armando Galarraga retired 28 consecutive Cleveland Guardians (Then known as the Indians.) It just so happened that the 27th batter, Jason Donald, was called safe by veteran umpire Jim Joyce. As a result, this game stands in relief in comparison to all the other 238,000 + games that have been played by Major League baseball since 1869, because it serves as a lasting example of humility, compassion, empathy, and forgiveness — reminding us all that baseball is a game whose lessons can extend beyond the field of play. Joyce – Galarraga home-plate meeting: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XpFzDGYh8o Baseball Reference Game Log, Tigers vs. Indians, June 2, 2010: https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/DET/DET201006020.shtml Thank you for listening. Email [email protected] byroncopley.com Music: “Field Grass” by Sergei Pavkin

I believe that with a proper mindset of anticipation, expectation, and pro-activity, outfielders gain precious milli-seconds of reaction time that can affect the outcome of a play. This is a personal account of the mindset I developed and refined as an outfielder from the age of 14 until I when I stopped playing organized baseball at age 19. I hope that this is also a universal story about patience, persistence, tenacity, and humility. To tell it, I have to delve into the details of what I still consider a singular approach to outfield play, because I have never seen anyone else at any level adopt it. Thank you for listening. email: [email protected] Music: “Field Grass” by Sergei Pavkin

53 years ago today, I attended the 42nd MLB All-Star Game at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. This is my account of my experience there, and I close with an anecdote that occurred two years earlier that involved two participants who were played in that game. Thank you, as always, for listening. 1971 All-Star Game Box Score: https://www.baseball-reference.com/allstar/1971-allstar-game.shtml Reggie Jackson’s 1971 All-Star Game Home Run: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7kS5pwH0hM Email: [email protected] Music: “Field Grass” by Sergei Pavkin

In this podcast, I present the five things that I do in every game I call to help ensure that I represent the game of baseball to the best of my ability. These are things that any umpire can and should do from their initial to their final game. I think these are indicative of umpires who respect the game, the coaches, and players — and that places them in the best possible position to succeed. As always, thank you for listening. Email: [email protected] Music: “Field Grass” by Sergei Pavkin

It was a moment that I had been anticipating, along with the rest of the baseball word, for three years prior to April 8, 1974. And even though I witnessed it on television — I missed it — and then realized it much later in life. And it had nothing to do with the actual home run. [email protected] ps. (apologies for the occasional bird noises and the occasional audio pops, which I fixed to the best of my ability. I hope that the content compensates for these minor technical flaws)

Willie Mays (May 6, 1931 – June 18, 2024) was the last five-tool player of my youth to pass away. The other five players being, in my opinion, Mickey Mantle, Frank Robinson, Al Kaline, Roberto Clemente, and Hank Aaron. I believe that Mays was the best of all of them, because of his elite base running skills. In this podcast, I reflect on Mays’s approach to base running, offer an anecdote on how he influenced the way that I ran the bases, and offer several tactics that I used to apply that I would have liked to have shared with Mays. Instead, I’ll share them with you. I look forward to your reflections and comments: [email protected] Music: “Field Grass” by Sergei Pavkin

What does a called strike look like from the perspective of the one person on the field who sees it most clearly: the home plate umpire? That’s what this podcast explores in detail. We’ll define the strike zone, how an umpire sees it best, why there is often disagreement about the location of a “questionable” pitch, and what I believe is the best approach to call the fairest, most objective game from behind the plate from first pitch to final out. As always, thank you for listening and feel free to offer your comments and input at [email protected]. Music: “Field Grass” by Sergei Pavkin

All About Baseball by Byron Copley covers baseball from all perspectives. In this introductory episode, called “Warmup,” I explain why I am doing this podcast, what I hope to achieve, and encourage your feedback and input, to generate a dialogue amongst people who are passionate about the game of baseball. Comments? E-mail me at [email protected] Thank you for listening! Music: “Field Grass” by Sergei Pavkin